Love Don't Love Nobody

Album: Mighty Love (1974)
Charted: 15
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Every song on Side 2 of The Spinners' Mighty Love album - including the title track - has the word "love" in the title. They got a lot of mileage out of exploring the intricacies of that crazy emotion, and did so on "Love Don't Love Nobody," where they explain that love itself is cold and impartial. Anyone who has had their heart broken can tell you.
  • The Spinners were produced by Thom Bell when they came to Atlantic Records in 1972 after a nine-year run at Motown with little success. Bell was more than just a producer; he worked closely with the group to refine their sound, and he also supplied their songs, just as he did in his previous work with The Delfonics and The Stylistics. He wrote a lot of songs himself (using a lyricist, often Linda Creed), but by 1974 he felt it was more important to focus more on production and presentation, so he assigned two writers, Charles Simmons and Joseph B. Jefferson, to put all their efforts into Spinners songs. Working out of Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia (where Bell was based), they delivered "Mighty Love" and "Love Don't Love Nobody." Both songs were hits, continuing a run that made The Spinners one of the top vocal groups of the '70s.
  • Philippé Wynne took the lead vocal on this one. He joined the group in 1972 when they went to Atlantic Records, replacing G.C. Cameron, who stayed at Motown as a solo artist. Wynne worked out very well and became their primary lead vocalist. He's out front on most of their hits including "The Rubberband Man" and "One Of A Kind (Love Affair)." He left the group in 1977 to start a solo career.
  • Musically, this song is very similar to the Boyz II Men hit "End Of The Road." Spinners producer Thom Bell says the group's publishing company wanted to sue, but he talked them out of it. "We all borrow somewhere along the line," he told Soul Jones. "But they really didn't steal, what they did was they borrowed. But like I tell anyone, I don't mind you borrowing as long as you give it back when I ask you to!"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.